Search - Petra Farewell on DVD

Good but video edit lets it down

bounce33 | 04/12/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Great concert. Only a stereo mix but it sounds great. Would have been nice to have had keyboard for the whole concert rather than just for 1 or 2 tracks. Video editing was pretty lame. Tried to do too much, fading, shaking of camera, zooming in ultra close, fast chopping between shots... Needed to be a little less jumpy. Focus is mainly on vocals the whole time when the band are good enough to warrant a bit of coverage. But thats all I can fault it on. Great sound, great concert - could have been a bit longer though, only an hour or so of actual concert here. If you like Petra's music I doubt you will be dissapointed here."

Five stars, but not without a few issues......

Joboo | USA | 03/23/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I have to say this was a treat to get. A fan since 1983, I have looked forward to Petra's newest albums every year. It is a shame that THE best Christian band ever has been forced to the sidelines by time and an ever greed filled Christian music industry. But I digress with my rant on the industry.

The DVD, though rated as a 5 stars does have some problems. First, the edit of the two sessions is not seamless. They recorded the concert and then came back and re-recorded some songs. These re-taped songs are obvious during portions of the DVD, most obvious of those being the acoustic portion of the show. During "Love" John Schlitt goes from being soaked in sweat to totally dry back to soaked again. The other technical issue with the DVD is that in some places the synch of music and image is off. This happens with both John and Greg when you see their mouths opening/closing out of synch with their voices. This is for the most part not an issue, but there are times when it is very obvious.

I would have to say the extras are pretty good. I would have liked a more comprehensive history of the band segment, where we follow the band through all their albums, but that is a small gripe in the overall scheme of things. I have to agree with one reviewer who was disappointed the talking between songs was edited out. Petra is first and foremost about the Word, and not having their normal in between song testimonials about Christ really delutes the impact of why Petra is so strong live. It is the music of course, but the message is equally important. I know they had to edit the DVD the way they did for space reasons, but I think fans would have coughed up a little extra money for a double sided or 2-disk release that had nothing but the concert on one disk and the extras on another.

All in all, a must purchase for Petra fans out there."

What could have been

G. Gill | Indianapolis, IN | 03/25/2006

(3 out of 5 stars)

"This DVD is a must-have for Petra fans for 2 reasons. 1-It's the last project from the greatest Christian rock band. 2-There aren't many Petra DVDs.

Petra's performance was great, it was a Petra concert. But the final product is missing so much. It appeared that this project was on a budget. You can tell corners were cut. If you compare this DVD to other live DVDs out there you know it could have been more. The first thing I noticed was that the concert was recorded in widescreen but then letterboxed, so it's not enhanced for a widescreen tv. So I'm thinking, why even film it in widescreen? In the beginning of the concert the video editors show off there skills by doing multiple video fades so you can see mutiple camera angels at the same time. A nice effect, but you shouldn't do it for the whole first half of the concert. I kept thinking to myself, just stick with one camera angle for awhile. The multiple camera effect stopped about the time of the acoutic set. And from there on it was easier to watch. Another problem I had was with the audio. It sounded good in stereo, but it would have sounded better in surrond sound. Doesn't Petra deserve surrond sound? And as someone else commented on here, the audio was off in some places.

The bonus materials were good. You get an interview with the band. An interview with Peter Furler (from the Newboys). Interiews with Petra fans (probably the best bonus feature. It did a good job capturing who Petra was). And you get some Petra rehearsal footage.

I think it's sad that the final project turned out the way it did when think at who Petra was and that this is their final project ever, a tribute to the band, and a thank you to their fans. Maybe InPop didn't think they would sell too many DVDs and didn't want to put too much money in to the project, but Christian music and InPop owe it to the band to put out a quality product - whatever it costs. I keep thinking, what could have been."

A must have for Petra fans, however...

DJ | 06/18/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I have been a Petra fan from the beginning (yes I'm and old guy) and was elated when this DVD became available. Bottom line, buy it... you'll enjoy it a lot. The bonus material is nice as well. It does have a few weak spots hence the 4 star rating.
Video:
1. Have some form of sea sickness medication on hand for the first half of the show. The producer suffered from the dreaded "hey, what does this button do?" condition. During sections of Dance, my wife and I both jolted back in unison in an attempt to re-focus out eyes.
2. If you are interested in seeing extended shots of Bob or the new drummer (it was sad not seeing Louie there) forget it. Quick peeks are all you get for the most part.
3. Music and mouths are off a little here and there. Not a big worry unless that sort of thing really bothers you.
4. You need to watch it in 4:3 format... Yuk. HD folks will have to dumb down the resolution. Unnecessary for a DVD with such a recent release date.
Audio: (played through Def Tech Pro 80 sats, pro 100 center and 10" sub driven by a Dennon AVR-1906)
1. I'm not sure why the CD, played through the same system, sounds so much better than the DVD. Same concert, different results. I guess the DVD folks should have hired the CD production staff.
2. My only "real" complaint with the sound is the abundance of bass. Even after dialing the bass down all the way on the receiver, I had to actually physically dial it down some more on the sub. Not that that's a great burden, I'm not quite that lazy, but it's the only DVD I've had to do it with.
Again, let me say this concert is a must have for Petra fans. It's this one or... well, this one. As one of the other reviewers mentioned, a re-release of Captured in Time and Space on DVD would be fantastic. Seeing Greg and John was a treat and brought warm feelings for us older fans.
Thanks to Petra for 30 plus years of great music. I pray God continues to bless the members of the band an all of those who listen."